Mechanism for raising or lowering berths



3 Sheets-Sheet G. H. POOR. MECHANISM FOR RAISING 0R LOWERING BERTHS.

Patented May 29, 1894.

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, G. H. POOR. MECHANISM FOR RAISING OR LOWERING BERTHS.

Patented May 29, 1894,

WIIITNES'SEE.

' (No Model.) 3 SheetsSheet 3.

GfH. POOR.

I MEOHAQILSM FOR RAISING 0R LOWERING BERTHS. No. 520,760. Patented May 29, 1894.;

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WITNESSES; I

c of the winding wheels.

UN TED STATES :PATENT OFFICE GEORGE E. POOR, or BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

MECHANISM FOR RAISING OR LOWER l NG BERTHS.

I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,760, dated May 29,1894.

' Application filed September 15, 1893. Renewed May 1, 1894. Serial ne'eoavzo. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, GEORGE H. POOR, of Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and 5 useful Improvements in Mechanism for Raisingand Lowering Berths, of which the following is a specification.

My invention has relation to that kind of sleeping cars, vessels for navigation, 850., in

to which sleeping berths are raised from pockets beneath the floor or fromlow storage position, to a higher point to be in position for occupancy.

It is the object of my invention to provide I 5 such improvements in means for raising and lowering berths as will enable the same to be done with greater ease and rapidity than is the case with contrivances now employed.

It is also the object of my invention to sim- 2o plify the construction of the means for raising and lowering berths, and render the same certain and safe-.in operation, all appliances being outside of the berth, there is no liability of the mechanism soiling or in any way in- 2' 5 terfering with the contents of the berth.

It 1s also the object of my invention to proyide improved means for securing the berths 1n a raised position and locking them with the partitions, so that each individual berth may have an absolutely secure support, and

in addition in a series of berths in a row each may serve as a secure brace or support to the others.

To these ends my invention consists of the improvements which I will now proceed to describe and claim.

Reference is to be had to the annexed drawings and to the letters marked thereon, forming a part of this specification, the same letters designating the same parts or features,

as the case maybe, wherever they occur.

Of the draWingsFigure 1 is a sectional side elevation of a berth-section, its storage pocket or compartment, and end supports,

5 equipped with myimprovements, parts of the adjacent sections being also shown. Fig. 2 is a cross sectiontaken in the plane of the axis of the winding wheels. Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken in a plane above one Fig. at isa plan view showing the berth in raised position and locked. Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the immediate means for operating the winding wheels. Fig. 6 is a sectional view drawn to an enlarged scale, showing the manner of securing a berth in raised position, and looking it to the partition of the section. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the berth holder and lock. Fig.8 is a detail view of meansfor holding the berth holder and look back out of operative position. Fig. 9 is a sectional detail view showing means for securing one end of the cables to the section partitions. Fig. 10 is a perspective view of part of the means shown in Fig. 9. Figs. 5 to 10, inclusive, are drawn to an enlarged scale. Fig. 11 is a detail view hereinafter referred to.

In the drawings a designates what, for the purpose of this specification, may be supposed to be the'bottom of the car body, and the floor is elevated above said bottom to provide pockets or compartments for the storage of the berths c d when the same are out of use. The double floor sections e f over the pockets are hinged at their ends to stationary parts of the car so as that they may be raised from horizontal to vertical position, as is shown in Fig. 1, and so form the partitions between the sections.

Each berth is composed of end and side parts and a bottom g and false bottom h. The

space above the false bottom It is adapted to receive the mattress i which may be spring supported. Between the bottom and the false bottom of each berth I arrange in horizontal position a winding wheel j of a diameter as great as can be conveniently accommodated, or as great as may be necessary, which wheel is grooved upon its periphery to receive coils of the lifting cables 70 which may be wound thereon There are fourlifting cables for each berthtwo at each end-one of the ends of each cable being connected to the winding wheel j, and the other to a threaded metalshankl (see Figs. 9 and 10) which extends through an arm of a bracket Z fastened to one of the floor sections at the outer or free end thereof and contained in a recess in'said floor sections, said recess being covered by a plate 1*. A worm-wheel Z is screwed on said shank and bears on the upper side of the bracketarm, and a worm Z mounted in bearings on said arm engages said worm wheel,'and has a projecting square end to which a suitable nnplement may be applied for turning the worm thereby taking up slack in the cable, an opening being provided in the cover-plate Z to accommodate such implement. It will be observed by this construction I avoid proections from the floor sections. The cables will be so arranged as to pass from the wheel j out of the berth over pulleys m disposed at or near their lower corners, and thence up, it may be in grooves 76' (see Fig. 9) formed in the ends of the berths and partitions to their fastening point. The wheels j have bevel teeth 9% formed in their upper face at or near their edges adapted to be engaged by the teeth of a small miter gear 0 fixed upon the inner end of a short shaft properly supported, 011 the outer end of whichshaft is fixed a similar gearp, (see Fig. 5) which is adapted to engage a like horizon tally arranged miter gear q.

A shaft 0' extends through the miter gear q of the lower berth and up to a point just below the miter gear q of the upper berth, and the last mentioned gear receives a shaft 5' which is adapted at its lower end to engage and be locked with the upper end of the shaft '2", so that, supposing the berths to be down (as shown in full lines in Fig. 1) the shaft 3 may be inserted through a suit-able bearing, then through the miter gear q, of the upper berth and be locked with the upper end of the shaft 0*, when by the application to the upper end of the shaft 8 of a crank t, the gears 0 p q and the wheelsj may be rotated to wind up and unwind the cables and raise the berths out of, or lower them in their pockets or compartments.

WVhen the berths are above their pockets or compartments, the shaft of the crank may be inserted through a hole in the side of either berth and engaged with a gear 19 so that by the turning of the said crank each berth may be raised and lowered independent of the other.

When the berths are raised to the desired height (see dotted lines in Fig. 1) they may be engaged at their ends by wedge-shaped catches or dogs 11., which enter the bottom of similarly-shaped recesses formed in metallic blocks or pieceso suit-ably secured to the ends of the berth, and so not only hold the berths 1n raised position, but look them to their partitions, and in this way form a structure in which each section of a made-up series shall form an end support for the other sections. In other words, so that the several sections of a series shall be as it were, solidly connected, (see Figs. 6, 7 and 8.)

\Vhen the berths are to be lowered into their pockets, they will first be raised sufficiently far to release the catches or dogs it which may be folded back into recesses w formed in the sides of the partitions, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 6, in which position they may be held by a laterally sliding bolt 00 (see Fig. 8) connected with the partitions and moved in front of the said dogs, or by other suitable means when the berths may be lowered without obstruction. The dogs a may be pivoted on a-metallic support g which may serve the double purpose of attaching the dogs to the partitions, and also form a hearing at the point 3 for the dogs when the latter are operating to hold the berths in raised position (see Figs. 6 and 7).

I may provide each wheeljin one of its under side hollow faces with a counterbalancing. spring 2 (shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3) secured at one end to the wheel and at the other end to the axis or shaft j upon which the wheel turns, in such manner that when thewheel is turned to lower the berth the spring will be wound up, and when the said wheel is operated to raise the berth the spring will be unwound. By this means should the normal supports for the berth by any chance give way, the counterbalancing spring may still support it against running down.

The pulleys m arranged at or near the corners of the berths, under or around which the cables pass extend into the grooves 70' 70 formed in the partitions and ends of the pockets, by which means the berths are guided in their movements and maintained against any undue play or motion sidewisc. This is an important feature of the invention.

hen my improvements are constructed and arranged as shown in the drawings, the upper berth may be fully raised and lowered by turning its wheel to an extent less than one revolution, and the lower berth may be similarly operated by turning its wheel a little over one-half of a revolution, and the work of raising and lowering the berths may be speedily and easily accomplished.

In View of the fact that it may be necessary from time to time to adjust the tension or stress of the counterbalancing spring 2, I may provide means for this adjustment such as is shown in Fig. 11 wherein aratchet wheel j is secured to the upper end of the shaft or journal studj of the wheelj, and a holding pawl 7' is pivoted upon the false bottom h, which pawl engages the ratchet wheel to prevent the same and the wheel j from running back by the stress of the spring 2. The lower end of the stud j is provided with a squared hole 3' for the reception of a key or crank so that the stud j may be turned to adjust the tension of the spring 2, and when the adj ustment is made the spring may be maintained under the adjusted tension by the pawl j engaging ratchet wheel 9' fast on the said jour nal stud.

It is to be noted that the wheel j occupies but little room, and that all of the parts are out of the way of interfering with the makeup of the berths.

Having thus explained the nature of the invention and described a way of constructing and using the same, though without attempting to set forth all of the forms in which it may be made or all of the modes of its use, it is declared that what is claimed is 1. A berth raising andlowerin g means com- IIO prising in its construction a berth having a bottom and a false bottom a wheel horizontally arranged between the bottom and false bottom, cables connected at one end to the said Wheel and at the other end to the berth support, and means for actuating the said end to the berth support, and gearing engag-.

ing the gear teeth of the wheel for actuating the latter, as set forth. I

3. Abe'rth raising and lowering means comprising in its construction a horizontally arranged wheel below the bed or mattress, cables connected at one end to the said wheel and at the other end to the berth support, a spring connected with the latter and operating with a tendency to wind the cables thereon, and means for actuating the said wheel, as set forth.

4. Aberth raising and lowering means comprising in its construction a horizontallyarranged wheel below the bed or mattress, cables connected at one end to the said wheel and at the other end to the berth support, a spring connectedwith the latter and operating with a tendency to wind the cables thereon, means substantially as described for adj ustraising and ing the tension of the said spring, and means for actuating the said wheel, as set forth. I

5. Aberth supporting means compris ng 1n its construction, wedge-shaped dogs pivoted to the section partitions adapted to engage similar recesses formed in the bottom of the berths at the ends thereof, as set forth.

6. A berth adapted to be raised and lowered, provided with a tom, means for raising and lowering the berth arranged between the bottom and false bottom, and cables connected at one end to said means, and at the other end to the berth support, as set forth.

7. A berth adapted to be raised and lowered, cables connected to lowering the berth, means connected to the berth to which the cables are also attached, pulleys at the ends of the berth under or around which the cables pass, part of said pulleys extending beyond the plane of the berth, and grooves in the berth part1- tions into which the extended parts of the said pulley project, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my nameto this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 18th day of May, A. D. 1893.

GEORGE H. POOR.

Witnesses:

W. S. HILL, FRANK E. WATERMAN.

the partitions for bottom and false bot- 

